JoeTourist at the 2003 Island Star Party

I attended the
Island Star Party last year, but
I was "telescope-less" (is
that a word?). It was fun to walk and talk among all the various
telescopes and their owners. I found a unique story for each pair.
I was on a mission last year, since I had just placed an order for my new Meade
LX-90 telescope. It was going to be a couple of months before I received
it, and I was flush with excitement. Several LX-90 owners were at the
Island Star Party, and I sought their experiences before I officially
joined their ranks.

Oh, and the rest of the gear was fascinating as well! A star party shows just how
inventive and resourceful amateur astronomers can be. I learned how to
make a dew heater out of bits of electrical scraps, how big and heavy some
telescopes are when one is up-close and personal to them. I also learned
that amateur astronomers (at least the ones who attend star parties) are a very
friendly lot, and are eager to share their knowledge and experience with others.
Since I found last year's Island Star Party so much fun, this year's event
was high on my list!

At this years's event, Friday night was cloudy just like last year.
Most gave up and went to bed, but by about 2am the clouds disappeared. A few of the diehards
who stuck it out were rewarded in the early morning hours with great views of Mars.

Saturday night was a different story - beautiful clear skies showed us all
the heavens could offer. My personal observing log grew by leaps and
bounds. I took advantage of this dark site to observe galaxies and nebulae
which are impossible to see in light-polluted Victoria. The Veil Nebula, Trifid Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, and Owl Nebula were easily observed in all
their splendor, however the standout for me was the Lagoon Nebula and the Swan
Nebula. My OIII filter showed the full glory of these two nebulae.
The "wows" and "oohhs" of those who shared my thrill confirmed that this pair
were big hits with everyone who stopped by to have a look - full circle - now I
am sharing my experiences with others.

I didn't neglect my old favorites which I normally observe from the
city. M13 Hercules Cluster was superb, looking just like a pile of spilled
sugar crystals. M11 Wild Duck Cluster showed detail in this tight, dense cluster
I hadn't observed before. M31 Andromeda Galaxy was no longer just a fuzzy
ball. I could actually see some structure in the galaxy.

Later, I even had a chance to share some of my new-found expertise by helping
Laura Roche identify Neptune, which I had
first sighted only a few days previous from my Victoria site. By this time
Mars had risen over the eastern mountain horizon, and David Lee was busy with
his Astrovid CCD camera, laptop and Pronto scope (Mars
at the Island Star Party 2003). The view of Mars through my larger
aperture telescope was not too exciting for the first couple of hours, but after Mars
gained some altitude I was rewarded with the best views of the planet I have ever
observed through any telescope. The messages I had been reading on the
Internet were correct - right now Mars is best observed at around 3am, just before
twilight.

Given the superb observing on Saturday night, I decided to return for Sunday
night. The big crowds were gone, but the diehards were still there.
We even had a few members of the public drive in and observe, and some stayed to
camp for the night. It was a less hectic observing session as the dark
enveloped us, and we had the added bonus of the Delta Aquarid meteor shower this
evening. The hourly rate of the Delta Aquarids is 20, and that is pretty well
what we observed. While everyone waited for Mars to rise, we also entertained
ourselves with observing our old favorites and some new objects. I
concentrated on picking up more objects I can't see from my city location: M76 Little Dumbell
and the M110 galaxy. Of
course I had to gaze again at the Lagoon Nebula and the Swan Nebula - both were
spectacular!

As Mars rose above the horizon, everyone swung their scopes over to have a
look. The image was boiling just like the previous night until Mars
gained some altitude. By 2am, it was looking very nice is every scope.
I gazed at a near perfect Mars for most of the time between 2am and 3am,
when I decided to have a shot at imaging Mars with my digital camera, afocal
through the 9.7mm eyepiece. I
took over 100 images, and ended up stacking 50 of the best to build my first
image of Mars. See my
Astrophotographs web page for details of my efforts. By 3:30am, I think
I was the last to shut down as I packed up for the drive back home to Victoria.

The Island Star Party 2003 was the first star party this beginner amateur
astronomer fully participated in. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I met lots
of interesting people, traded knowledge with a few of my fellow astronomers, and
just generally had a good time. Thanks go to Ed and Rich, and all the
gang at the Cowichan
Valley StarFinders Astronomy Club. I can't wait for our own
Third Annual RASCALS Star Party
2003 to roll around in September!

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is dedicated
to the promotion of astronomy and its related sciences; we espouse the
scientific method, and support dissemination of discoveries and
theories based on that well-tested method.